DOCSLIB.ORG

A New Species of Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Taxonomic Notes on the Genus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A New Species of Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Taxonomic Notes on the Genus Revista Colombiana de EntomologíaA new species32(1): 97-99 of Carebara (2006) Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and taxonomic notes on the genus 97 A new species of Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and taxonomic notes on the genus Una nueva especie de Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) y notas taxonómicas sobre el género FERNANDO FERNÁNDEZ1 Abstract. A new ant species, Carebara coqueta sp.nov. from Colombia, is described, based on the soldier and worker castes. Carebara semistriata Fernández is considered a junior synonym of Carebara reina Fernández (syn. n.). Carebara guineana is proposed as a new name for Oligomyrmex silvestrii Santschi, 1914. Key words: Carebara coqueta, new species, Neotropics, taxonomic notes Resumen. Se describe una nueva especie de hormiga, Carebara coqueta n. sp. de Colombia, basada en soldado y obrera. Carebara semistriata Fernández se coloca como sinónimo menor de Carebara reina Fernández (n. sin.). Carebara guineana se propone como nuevo nombre para Oligomyrmex silvestrii Santschi, 1914. Palabras clave: Carebara, nueva especie, Neotrópico, notas taxonómicas. Introduction posteroventral corner of mesosoma to far- Taxonomic section The recent revision of the myrmicine ant thest point on anterior face of pronotum; Carebara lignata species complex genus Carebara Westwood for the West- GL - Gaster length: In lateral view, the line from anterior edge of first gastral tergum to This complex comprises those dimorphic ern Hemisphere (Fernández 2004) broad- and monomorphic Carebara whose mi- ened the generic limits of this name with posteriormost point; TL - Total length (HL + Mandible length + WL + Petiole length + nor workers are always eyeless. In the the incorporation of Oligomyrmex, Carebara revision (Fernández 2004) the Paedalgus, Afroxyidris and Neoble- Postpetiole length + GL); CI - Cephalic name of the group was incorrectly written pharidatta, as synonyms of Carebara. index: HW/HL; SI - Scape index: SL/HW. as “Carebara concinna species complex” The genus in its new sense was split in in the heading of the section of this group three sections, the concinna, lignata and Collections in the page 211, the name must be changed escherischi species groups. The first one, IAvH. Insect Collection, Instituto Hum- to Carebara lignata species complex. the concinna species group, corresponds boldt, Claustro de San Agustín, Villa de Carebara coqueta new species to the concept of Oligomyrmex; the Leyva, Colombia. second, the lignata species group to the (Fig. 1) traditional Carebara s. str., and the esche- INBio. Instituto Nacional de Biodiver- Description (major worker). Head longer rischi species group to Paedalgus. The sidad, San José, Costa Rica. than broad, posterior border semicircularly first two groups are probably paraphy- letic taxa, with only the escherischi spe- cies group apparently monophyletic (Bolton and Belshaw 1993). This paper includes the description of a new species along with some other taxonomic changes and comments. Materials and Methods Measurements were made using a micro- meter in a Nikon SMZ 2T stereomi- croscope at 80X magnifications, with a fiber ring lamp. All measurements are in mm: HL - Head length: Maximum length, in full face view, from the apex of the clypeal apron to the middle of vertex; HW - Head width: Maximum width in full face view; SL - Scape length (ex- cluding basal condyle and neck), in straight line distance; PW - Pronotal width: Maximum width across pronotum in dorsal view; WL - Weber’s length: In Figure 1. Carebara coqueta new species. Major worker head (left, HW 0.48 mm), mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole in lateral view (top); head of minor worker in full face view (lower lateral view of mesosoma, the line from right, HW 0.26 mm). Scale bar 0.5mm 1 Profesor Asociado, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Apartado 7495, Bogotá D.C., Colombia, [email protected] 98 Revista Colombiana de Entomología Fernando Fernández excised, sides straight, parallel. Mastica- with a small hair. Anterior sides of head present in the same foraging strata as tory border with five stout teeth. Clypeus with very fine longitudinal striation. workers. This suggests that, to obtain sol- narrow, medial portion slightly concave. Sides of mesosoma (except pronotum), diers of Carebara, we need to dig in the Frontal triangle well-defined. Frontal lobes petiole, postpetiole and dorsum of soil or look for them in rotten logs somewhat continued posteriorly as short petiolar peduncle with a faint to moder- (Longino 2004). The fact that many mu- longitudinal rugulae. Scapes very short. ate reticulation. Short curved hairs (less seums only have minor workers of the Ocelli and eyes absent. In lateral view than 0.03 mm) relatively abundant over typical Carebara (that is, the lignata spe- mesosoma flat, mesonotum slightly higher, body, especially dorsum. Medium cies group) could be due to the reason propodeum lower. Pronotal suture feebly length hairs (about 0.04 mm or longer): pointed out above, and in reality all of impressed dorsally. Metanotum narrow. Four on clypeus projecting forward, four the species of this complex may be di- Dorsal face of propodeum sloping and then on promesonotum (two anteriorly, two morphic. The exasperating monotony of curving into the posterior face, without posteriorly), two on petiole, four on the minor workers of the lignata species spines or angles. Propodeal spiracle rela- postpetiole. Body yellow brown. group (some of them only 0.90 mm long!) tively large, rounded, close to metapleural makes it desirable to obtain and to study Minor worker measurements (n=1) Para- gland bullae. Petiole with short peduncle, collections that include soldiers, besides type. HW 0.26 HL 0.31 SL 0.18 PW 0.15 lateral swellings and ventrally with strong females and males. If my prediction is cor- WL 0.29 GL 0.35 TL 1.04 CI 84 SI 69. spine. Postpetiole in posterior view rect, and all the species of the lignata campanuliform, ventrally with anterior cari- Female, Male: Unknown. group possess major workers (although nae. Body smooth, somewhat shining. difficult to collect), it should be possible Type data. Holotype major worker: Co- Head, promesonotum, sides of pronotum to revise the group on a global scale. lombia: Caquetá, Chiribiquete National and mesopleura with longitudinal rugae. Park, Mesay River, “Blue Green” Forest, Finally, I want to call attention to the in- Metapleuron, propodeum, petiole and site 5, 00°14’n 72°56’w, 8.ii.2000, teresting intercaste phenomenon in this postpetiole (except dorsal sides) with fine Winkler 64 in Terra Firme forest, 300 group. Kusnezov (1952) and Wheeler reticulation. Pubescence very sparse over m.o.s.l., F. Quevedo (Deposited in IAvH). (1925) pointed out and described cases body except propodeum. Long hairs (about Paratypes: 1 major worker, 2 minor work- of intermediates between major workers 0.13 mm) dense on head; several on ers, same data (Deposited in IAvH). (soldiers) and females. The great plastic- promesonotum, petiole, postpetiole and ity in the external attributes of the sol- gaster. Body brown. Distribution. Known only from the type diers of the lignata species group (such Holotype major worker measurements: locality. as the presence / absence of ocelli and HW 0.48 HL 0.64 SL 0.25 PW 0.25 WL Comments. The major worker of this eyes, and vestigial alary sclerites) make 0.53 GL 0.49 TL 2.03 CI 75 SI 52. species is smaller than that of C. tenua this an ideal group for the study of the or C. coeca, and on the basis of size is evolution of caste intergradations; as pro- Description (minor worker). Head posed by Baroni Urbani and Passera longer than wide. Posterior border more closely related to C. panamensis. Nevertheless, C. panamensis is even (1996), who suggest that in some cases slightly concave, lateral margins faintly the soldier developed not from the worker, concave. Mandibles with 4 teeth. Me- smaller (according to Wheeler 1925) with total length of 1.30 mm (vs. 2.03 but from the female (see Ward 1997 for a dian portion of clypeus nearly flat. In reply). frontal oblique view, clypeal lateral cari- mm in C. coqueta). The sculpturing dif- nae strongly narrowed posteriorly and fers between the two species, and is more Escherischi species complex extensive in C. coqueta. The pana- between frontal lobes, then continued mensis major worker/ergatoid has eyes The species in this complex (except by as frontal triangle. Scapes fail to reach and a median ocellus, although this the enigmatic C. intermedia Fernández) posterior border by 1/2 of head length. might be associated in some way with correspond to the previously recognized In side view, mesosoma slightly convex, its ergatoid condition. The minor work- genus Paedalgus sensu Bolton & Bel- interrupted by deep metanotal groove. ers of the two species are undistin- shaw (1993). The head is slightly narrower Dorsal face of propodeum curving into guishable, at least based on Wheeler’s anteriorly, the eyes, always present, are posterior face. Propodeal spiracle rela- (1925) description. As I pointed out in a reduced to a few ommatidia and the tively large, circular, high and very close recent paper (Fernández 2004:212), propodeum is very short. In the treatment to propodeal margin. Propodeal meta- there are several undescribed species in of the species of this complex (Fernandez pleural lobes reduced to narrow lamel- this complex whose limits and variation 2004) there is an error in the description of Carebara reina; moreover, new recent lae that reach the propodeal dorsum. are not well understood, additionally, evidence throw suspicion on the valid- Petiole with short peduncle, evenly con- the minor workers are practically use- ity of Carebara semistriata as good spe- tinuous with the dorsal rounded node. less for species identification. Thus, I cies. For these reasons, it is included the Subpetiolar process produced as ante- think that is better to postpone a key to complete description of C.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • In Indonesian Grasslands with Special Focus on the Tropical Fire Ant, Solenopsis Geminata
    The Community Ecology of Ants (Formicidae) in Indonesian Grasslands with Special Focus on the Tropical Fire Ant, Solenopsis geminata. By Rebecca L. Sandidge A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Neil D. Tsutsui, Chair Professor Brian Fisher Professor Rosemary Gillespie Professor Ellen Simms Fall 2018 The Community Ecology of Ants (Formicidae) in Indonesian Grasslands with Special Focus on the Tropical Fire Ant, Solenopsis geminata. © 2018 By Rebecca L. Sandidge 1 Abstract The Community Ecology of Ants (Formicidae) in Indonesian Grasslands with Special Focus on the Tropical Fire Ant, Solenopsis geminata. by Rebecca L. Sandidge Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science Policy and Management, Berkeley Professor Neil Tsutsui, Chair Invasive species and habitat destruction are considered to be the leading causes of biodiversity decline, signaling declining ecosystem health on a global scale. Ants (Formicidae) include some on the most widespread and impactful invasive species capable of establishing in high numbers in new habitats. The tropical grasslands of Indonesia are home to several invasive species of ants. Invasive ants are transported in shipped goods, causing many species to be of global concern. My dissertation explores ant communities in the grasslands of southeastern Indonesia. Communities are described for the first time with a special focus on the Tropical Fire Ant, Solenopsis geminata, which consumes grass seeds and can have negative ecological impacts in invaded areas. The first chapter describes grassland ant communities in both disturbed and undisturbed grasslands.
    [Show full text]
  • FIRST RECORD of CAREBARA OERTZENI FOREL, 1886 (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) from ALBANIA Adrián Purkart*, Daniel Jablonski & Jana Christophoryová
    NAT. CROAT. VOL. 28 No 1 173-176 ZAGREB June 30, 2019 short communication/kratko priopćenje DOI 10.30302 / NC.2019.28.17 FIRST RECORD OF CAREBARA OERTZENI FOREL, 1886 (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) FROM ALBANIA Adrián Purkart*, Daniel Jablonski & Jana Christophoryová Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynská dolina B-1, Ilkovičova 6, SK–842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia Purkart, A., Jablonski, D. & Christophoryová, J.: First record of Carebara oertzeni Forel, 1886 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Albania. Nat. Croat. Vol. 28, No. 1., 173-176, Zagreb, 2019. The first record of the rare ant Carebara oertzeni Forel, 1886 from Albania is reported. Two workers of C. oertzeni were discovered in the south-eastern part of the country, near the village of Benjë-No- voselë. So far, it is the northernmost known distribution of this very rarely collected species, the sole representative of its genus in Europe, whose previous records all come from Greece and Turkey. In addition, we also found a specimen determined as the Proceratium melinum Roger, 1860 worker ant in the same soil sample. Key words: ants, Balkans, Carebara oertzeni,distribution, Formicidae Purkart, A., Jablonski, D. & Christophoryová, J.: Prvi nalaz vrste Carebara oertzeni Forel, 1886 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) iz Albanije. Nat. Croat. Vol. 28, No. 1., 173-176, Zagreb, 2019. Rad donosi prvi nalaz rijetke vrste mrava Carebara oertzeni Forel, 1886 iz Albanije. Dva radnika pronađena su u jugoistočnom dijelu zemlje, blizu sela Benjë-Novoselë. Dosad je to najsjevernija točka u rasprostranjenosti ove rijetko pronalažene vrste, jedinog predstavnika tog roda u Europi; prethodni nalazi potječu iz Grčke i Turske.
    [Show full text]
  • 67 Six New Species of Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
    67 Six New Species of Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Dlussky, G. M., Perkovsky, E. E., 2002, Murav’I Rovenskogo yantarya. Vestnik Zoologii, 36: 3-20. Eguchi, K., Bui, T. V., 2007, Parvimyrma gen. nov. belonging to the Solenopsis genus group from Vietnam (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Solenopsidini). Zootaxa, 1461: 39-47. Ettershank, G., 1966, A generic revision of the world Myrmicinae related to Solenopsis and Pheidologeton (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Australian Journal of Zoology, 14: 73-171. Fernández, F., 2004, The American species of the myrmicine ant genus Carebara Westwood. Caldasia, 26: 191-238. Fernández, F., 2006, A new species of Carebara Westwood and taxonomic notes on the genus. Revista Colombiana de Entomologia, 32: 97-99. Fernández, F., 2010, A new species of Carebara from the Philippines with notes and comments on the systematics of the Carebara genus group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Caldasia, 32(1): 191-203. Forel, A., 1902, Myrmicinae nouveaux de l’Inde et de Ceylan. Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 10: 165-249. Forel, A., 1911, Ameisen aus Ceylon, gesammelt von Prof. K. Escherich (einige von Prof. E. Bugnion). In Escherich, K. Termitenleben auf Ceylon, Jena, 213-228. Hölldobler, B., Wilson, E. O., 1990, The ants. Harvard University Press, Massachusetts. 732. Mayr, G., 1862, Myrmecologische Studien. Verhandlungen der k.k. Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien, 12: 649-776. Sheela, S., Narendran, T. C., 1997, A new genus and a new species of Myrmicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from India. Journal of Ecobiology, 9: 87-91. Westwood, J. O., 1840, Observations on the genus Typhlopone, with descriptions of several exotic species of ants. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 6: 81-89.
    [Show full text]
  • The Functions and Evolution of Social Fluid Exchange in Ant Colonies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Marie-Pierre Meurville & Adria C
    ISSN 1997-3500 Myrmecological News myrmecologicalnews.org Myrmecol. News 31: 1-30 doi: 10.25849/myrmecol.news_031:001 13 January 2021 Review Article Trophallaxis: the functions and evolution of social fluid exchange in ant colonies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Marie-Pierre Meurville & Adria C. LeBoeuf Abstract Trophallaxis is a complex social fluid exchange emblematic of social insects and of ants in particular. Trophallaxis behaviors are present in approximately half of all ant genera, distributed over 11 subfamilies. Across biological life, intra- and inter-species exchanged fluids tend to occur in only the most fitness-relevant behavioral contexts, typically transmitting endogenously produced molecules adapted to exert influence on the receiver’s physiology or behavior. Despite this, many aspects of trophallaxis remain poorly understood, such as the prevalence of the different forms of trophallaxis, the components transmitted, their roles in colony physiology and how these behaviors have evolved. With this review, we define the forms of trophallaxis observed in ants and bring together current knowledge on the mechanics of trophallaxis, the contents of the fluids transmitted, the contexts in which trophallaxis occurs and the roles these behaviors play in colony life. We identify six contexts where trophallaxis occurs: nourishment, short- and long-term decision making, immune defense, social maintenance, aggression, and inoculation and maintenance of the gut microbiota. Though many ideas have been put forth on the evolution of trophallaxis, our analyses support the idea that stomodeal trophallaxis has become a fixed aspect of colony life primarily in species that drink liquid food and, further, that the adoption of this behavior was key for some lineages in establishing ecological dominance.
    [Show full text]
  • First Record of Carebara Raja(Forel, 1902)
    Punjab University Journal of Zoology 35(1): 77-80 (2020) https://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.pujz/2020.35.1.77.80 Research Article First Record of Carebara raja (Forel, 1902) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) from Pakistan Muhammad Tariq Rasheed1, Imran Bodlah1*, Ammara Gull e Fareen1,2, Muhammad Shakeel Khokhar1 1Insect Biodiversity and Conservation Group, Department of Entomology, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan 2Department of Environmental Sciences, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Article History Received: December 28, 2018 Abstract | Carebara Westwood (1840) is a species rich genus in subfamily Myrmicinae. Many Revised: January 31, 2019 species of this genus are reported from various parts of the world including neighbouring Accepted: March 11, 2020 countries of Pakistan. Members of this genus are considered as generalized foragers and cryptic Published: June 08, 2020 in nature. Collected material was verified using most recent and available literature provided by Bharti and Akbar (2014). Herein we report one species of this genus C. raja (Forel, 1902) Authors’ Contributions based on queen for the first time from Himalayan Foothills of Pakistan. Differential diagnosis, MTR and AGF collected the data and wrote the manuscript. morphometric and illustrations are provided with notes on distributional range. IM confirmation of species, contribution during manuscript Novelty Statement | Carebara raja (Forel, 1902) genus and species is recorded for the first time write-up and photography. MSK from Pakistan. collected field data and prepared ecological note. Keywords Carebara raja, Himalayan foot- hills, Pakistan To cite this article: Rasheed, M.T., Bodlah, I., Fareen, A.G.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ant Genus Carebarawestwood in the Arabian Peninsula
    A peer-reviewed open-access journal ZooKeys The357: 67–83 ant genus(2013)Carebara Westwood in the Arabian Peninsula (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) 67 doi: 10.3897/zookeys.357.5946 RESEARCH ARTICLE www.zookeys.org Launched to accelerate biodiversity research The ant genus Carebara Westwood in the Arabian Peninsula (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Mostafa R. Sharaf1,†, Abdulrahman S. Aldawood1,‡ 1 Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, PO Box 2460, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia † http://zoobank.org/E2A42091-0680-4A5F-A28A-2AA4D2111BF3 ‡ http://zoobank.org/477070A0-365F-4374-A48D-1C62F6BC15D1 Corresponding author: Mostafa R. Sharaf ([email protected]) Academic editor: Brian Fisher | Received 9 July 2013 | Accepted 21 November 2013 | Published 2 December 2013 http://zoobank.org/8A85CE8B-BCC7-424E-92FA-18B5D1E40788 Citation: Sharaf MR, Aldawood AS (2013) The ant genus Carebara Westwood in the Arabian Peninsula (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 357: 67–83. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.357.5946 Abstract The ant genus Carebara of the Arabian Peninsula is revised. Carebara abuhurayri Sharaf & Aldawood, 2011 is synonymized under Carebara arabica Collingwood & van Harten, 2001. Carebara arabica is redescribed and a Neotype is fixed based on a specimen collected from southwestern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A new species, C. fayrouzae sp. n. is described from Saudi Arabia based on queens, major and minor workers. Keys to major and minor workers of the two Arabian Carebara species are given. Keywords Saudi Arabia, Palearctic region, Myrmicinae, key, taxonomy, new species Copyright M.R. Sharaf, A.S. Aldawood. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 (CC-BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
    [Show full text]
  • Borowiec Et Al-2020 Ants – Phylogeny and Classification
    A Ants: Phylogeny and 1758 when the Swedish botanist Carl von Linné Classification published the tenth edition of his catalog of all plant and animal species known at the time. Marek L. Borowiec1, Corrie S. Moreau2 and Among the approximately 4,200 animals that he Christian Rabeling3 included were 17 species of ants. The succeeding 1University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA two and a half centuries have seen tremendous 2Departments of Entomology and Ecology & progress in the theory and practice of biological Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, classification. Here we provide a summary of the NY, USA current state of phylogenetic and systematic 3Social Insect Research Group, Arizona State research on the ants. University, Tempe, AZ, USA Ants Within the Hymenoptera Tree of Ants are the most ubiquitous and ecologically Life dominant insects on the face of our Earth. This is believed to be due in large part to the cooperation Ants belong to the order Hymenoptera, which also allowed by their sociality. At the time of writing, includes wasps and bees. ▶ Eusociality, or true about 13,500 ant species are described and sociality, evolved multiple times within the named, classified into 334 genera that make up order, with ants as by far the most widespread, 17 subfamilies (Fig. 1). This diversity makes the abundant, and species-rich lineage of eusocial ants the world’s by far the most speciose group of animals. Within the Hymenoptera, ants are part eusocial insects, but ants are not only diverse in of the ▶ Aculeata, the clade in which the ovipos- terms of numbers of species.
    [Show full text]
  • Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
    ASIAN MYRMECOLOGY Volume 8, 17 – 48, 2016 ISSN 1985-1944 © Weeyawat Jaitrong, Benoit Guénard, Evan P. Economo, DOI: 10.20362/am.008019 Nopparat Buddhakala and Seiki Yamane A checklist of known ant species of Laos (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Weeyawat Jaitrong1, Benoit Guénard2, Evan P. Economo3, Nopparat Buddhakala4 and Seiki Yamane5* 1 Thailand Natural History Museum, National Science Museum, Technopolis, Khlong 5, Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani, 12120 Thailand E-mail: [email protected] 2 School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China 3 Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan 4 Biology Divisions, Faculty of Science and Technology, Rajamangala Univer- sity of Technology Tanyaburi, Pathum Thani 12120 Thailand E-mail: [email protected] 5 Kagoshima University Museum, Korimoto 1-21-30, Kagoshima-shi, 890-0065 Japan *Corresponding author’s email: [email protected] ABSTRACT. Laos is one of the most undersampled areas for ant biodiversity. We begin to address this knowledge gap by presenting the first checklist of Laotian ants. The list is based on a literature review and on specimens col- lected from several localities in Laos. In total, 123 species with three additional subspecies in 47 genera belonging to nine subfamilies are listed, including 62 species recorded for the first time in the country. Comparisons with neighboring countries suggest that this list is still very incomplete. The provincial distribu- tion of ants within Laos also show that most species recorded are from Vien- tiane Province, the central part of Laos while the majority of other provinces have received very little, if any, ant sampling.
    [Show full text]
  • Carebara Vidua E Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
    Ins. Soc. 42:411-418 (1995) 1015-1621/95/040411-08 $1.50 + 0.20/0 1995 Birkhguser Verlag, Basel Research article Sperm transfer in the ant Carebara vidua E Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) H. G. Robertson* Zoology Department, University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. Wits2050, Johannesburg, South Africa Key words: Carebara vidua, sperm transfer, copulation, ovariole number. Summary Sperm transfer in the myrmicine ant Carebara vidua was studied by making histological sections of newly mated queens. Queens are multiply inseminated, and longitudinal sections through the sperm- filled vagina show that the bundle of sperm from each male is enclosed in a layer of acces- sory gland secretion terminating in a plug of secretion in the female's vaginal orifice. This sperma- tophore breaks down soon after mating. The huge quantity of sperm packed into the spermatheca (ca. 16 mm3) suggests that the queen lays a large number of eggs in her lifetime, confirmed by the average of 1672 ovarioles in the two ovaries. Introduction The process of sperm transfer in ants has received little attention in the literature. Studies have been limited to examining copulatory behaviour and positions in copu- lation (H611dobler and Bartz, 1985; Robertson and Villet, 1989) and to studies of the morphology of male and female reproductive systems (Hermann and Blum, 1965; Hung and Vinson, 1975, Wheeler and Krutzsch, 1992; Ball and Vinson, 1984). Even within the Hymenoptera as a whole studies of sperm transfer seem to have been limited to the honey bee Apis mellifera (Koeniger, 1984, 1986; Koeniger et al., 1979) and an ichneumonid (Madel et al., 1990).
    [Show full text]
  • Download PDF File (493KB)
    Myrmecological News 18 1-11 Vienna, March 2013 Cooperative transport in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and elsewhere Tomer J. CZACZKES & Francis L.W. RATNIEKS Abstract Cooperative transport, defined as multiple individuals simultaneously moving an object, has arisen many times in ants, but is otherwise extremely rare in animals. Here we review the surprisingly sparse literature available on cooperative transport. Cooperative transport abilities in ants are a continuum, but three general syndromes are described: uncoordi- nated transport, in which transport is slow, poorly coordinated and characterised by frequent and long deadlocks; en- circling coordinated transport, in which transport is fast, well coordinated, and with few deadlocks; and forward-facing coordinated transport, carried out exclusively by army ants, in which one worker, usually of larger size, straddles an item at the front while one or more smaller workers help to lift at the back. In the two coordinated syndromes, the groups of ants involved constitute teams, and specialised recruitment to large items and adjustment of carrier number to match item size may occur. Some features of cooperative transport are specific adaptations, whilst others are already present in the behaviour of ants carrying items alone. One major benefit of cooperative transport appears to be that it allows a colony to utilize large food items in an environment with aggressive or dominant competitors by quickly removing the item to the nest rather than having to cut it up or consume it on the spot. In addition, compared to individual transport, cooperative transport may have other benefits such as increased transport speed or efficiency. The study of cooperative transport also includes computer simulations and robots.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ant Genus Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Synonymisation of Pheidologeton Mayr Under Carebara, Establishment and Revision of the C
    A peer-reviewed open-access journal ZooKeys 438: 57–112 (2014) The ant genusCarebara Westwood ... 57 doi: 10.3897/zookeys.438.7922 RESEARCH ARTICLE www.zookeys.org Launched to accelerate biodiversity research The ant genus Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): synonymisation of Pheidologeton Mayr under Carebara, establishment and revision of the C. polita species group Georg Fischer1, Frank Azorsa1,2,3, Brian L. Fisher1 1 Entomology, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118, U.S.A. 2 División de Entomologia, Centro de Ecologia y Biodiversidad, CEBIO. Lima, PERU 3 Department of Biological Sciences, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave. San Francisco, CA 94132, U.S.A. Corresponding author: Georg Fischer ([email protected]) Academic editor: M. Borowiec | Received 16 May 2014 | Accepted 3 July 2014 | Published 1 September 2014 http://zoobank.org/65A5BAEC-5E98-4029-A740-637590BD3126 Citation: Fischer G, Azorsa F, Fisher BL (2014) The ant genus Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): synonymisation of Pheidologeton Mayr under Carebara, establishment and revision of the C. polita species group. ZooKeys 438: 57–112. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.438.7922 Abstract In this paper the genus Pheidologeton Mayr, 1862 is synonymized under Carebara Westwood, 1840 and the Carebara polita group is established and revised. This species group currently includes six species from the Afrotropical region (C. madibai, C. nicotianae, C. perpusilla, C. polita, C. silvestrii, and C. villiersi) and two species from the Neotropical region (C. brevipilosa and C. urichi). The polita group clearly links Carebara and Pheidologeton, and, due to a lack of autapomorphic characters for the latter, a separation of the two genera is no longer justified.
    [Show full text]
  • Phylogeny and Biogeography of a Hyperdiverse Ant Clade (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
    UC Davis UC Davis Previously Published Works Title The evolution of myrmicine ants: Phylogeny and biogeography of a hyperdiverse ant clade (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2tc8r8w8 Journal Systematic Entomology, 40(1) ISSN 0307-6970 Authors Ward, PS Brady, SG Fisher, BL et al. Publication Date 2015 DOI 10.1111/syen.12090 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Systematic Entomology (2015), 40, 61–81 DOI: 10.1111/syen.12090 The evolution of myrmicine ants: phylogeny and biogeography of a hyperdiverse ant clade (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) PHILIP S. WARD1, SEÁN G. BRADY2, BRIAN L. FISHER3 andTED R. SCHULTZ2 1Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A., 2Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, U.S.A. and 3Department of Entomology, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A. Abstract. This study investigates the evolutionary history of a hyperdiverse clade, the ant subfamily Myrmicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), based on analyses of a data matrix comprising 251 species and 11 nuclear gene fragments. Under both maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods of inference, we recover a robust phylogeny that reveals six major clades of Myrmicinae, here treated as newly defined tribes and occur- ring as a pectinate series: Myrmicini, Pogonomyrmecini trib.n., Stenammini, Solenop- sidini, Attini and Crematogastrini. Because we condense the former 25 myrmicine tribes into a new six-tribe scheme, membership in some tribes is now notably different, espe- cially regarding Attini. We demonstrate that the monotypic genus Ankylomyrma is nei- ther in the Myrmicinae nor even a member of the more inclusive formicoid clade – rather it is a poneroid ant, sister to the genus Tatuidris (Agroecomyrmecinae).
    [Show full text]